The Muses in Greek mythology are ancient goddesses of inspiration. They are the women whom poets, artists, philosophers, and intellectuals depend on in order to generate their works (Price, Kearns 359). The Muses are the daughters of the great God Zeus and “Memory” (Mnemosyne), the Titaness (Hesiod 62).
The Muses sat near the throne of Zeus, king of the gods, and sang of his greatness and of the origin of the world and its inhabitants and the glorious deeds of the great heroes. From their name words such as music, museum, mosaic are derived (Price, Kearns 360.)
Muses may have been in origin water-spirits, and it was believed that the spirits of water could prophesize. The theory was that prophets were also poets, and the Muses were considered poets who knew all the stories and could inspire anyone to tell them (Rose 174).The name “Muse” alludes to memory or to a reminder. It’s said to have been derived from a time when poets had no books to read and had to rely solely on their memory to recount stories. But in time, the name Muse came to symbolize an inspiration in regards to the arts (Salisbury 238).
Traditional Muses
The number of Muses is not consistent, but later authors (originating from the great poet Hesiod) identify nine of them. The late eighth century Greek poet Hesiod claimed that the Muses gave him the gift of storytelling one day when he was tending to his sheep. That is why at the beginning of his Theogonyhe calls upon the divine Muses to inspire him. Most ancients have accepted Hesiod’s claim that the nine Muses have existed, as well as the names he assigned them (Kerenyi 104.) The Greek historian Diodorus Sirculus had this to say about the matter:
Gustave Moreau, Hesiod and the Muse (1891) - Musée d'Orsay, Paris
"Writers disagree concerning the number of the Muses; for some say that they are three, and others that they are nine, but the number nine has prevailed since it rests upon the authority of the most distinguished men, such as Homer and Hesiod and others like them."
However, the original story of the goddesses tells only of three. The names given to these three Muses do not come from mythology, but rather from a poet’s practice. The names of the Muses are: Melete, “practicing”; Mneme, “remembering”; and Aoide, “singing” (Kerenyi 104).
The Nine Muses
According to later authors, the nine muses are assigned a specialty in the arts. Calliope is the Muse of epic poetry, Clio of history, Euterpe of music and Elegiac poetry, Melpomene of tragedy, Terpsichore of dance, Erato of hymns to the Gods, Polyhymnia of religious poetry, Urania of astronomy, and Thalia of comedy (Rose 174). The nine Muses can be distinguished within Renaissance and Neoclassical art by the specific emblams they carry in their sculputures and paintings. For example, Calliope can be seen carrying a writing tablet, Clio carries a scroll and books, Terpsichore is often seen dancing and carrying a lyre, and Urania carries a pair of compasses and the celestial globe (Rose 175).
Muses in Myth
The Muses are proud goddesses who find it essential to protect their honor. There exists two tales where the Muses encounter challenges by mortals. A man named Thamyris (from Homer’s Iliad), who believed he could out-sing the goddesses, brought about the first challenge. During his performance, unimpressed by his attributes, the Muses put an end to Thamyris’ “minstrelsy” by binding the pompous man and thus taking away his memory. The second incident included the nine daughters of Pieros of Pella in Macedonia. The nine daughters (called Pierides, like the Muses) challenged the Muses to a contest of song. In the end, the vote was unanimous- the Muses had outdone the daughters. As a punishment for their disrespect during the contest, the daughters were turned into birds (Rose 174.)
Gustave Moreau, Apollo and the Nine Muses (1856)
Muses in Greek Culture
In Macedonia, there were dedicated cult centers for the Muses during the archaic and classcial periods. The cult centers were located at Pieria and on Mount Olympus, and on Mount Helicon between Delphi and Thebes. The Muses at Helicon a had full-scale sanctuary with an altar, theater, status of goddesses and poets, and a quadrennial festival with contests in tradegy and comedy and later, music. The Muses were given a new type of cultic life during the fourth century when Plato's academy and other philosophical schools adopted the Muses as their patrons. Local circumstances determined what type of deities they were and whather or not they would receive worship, and the poetic tradition, strongly influenced by Hesiod. Eventually, the Muses were developed into fairly uniform literary and artistic characters for all Greeks (Mikalson 48.)
Muses in Literature
The Muses are mentioned countless times Greek literature. In Hesiod’s Theogony, the poet devotes several lines to the beauty and supremacy of the goddesses, mentioning them merely as a prophetic strategy. In the Homeric Hymn to the Muses and Apollo, it is said that Apollo is the leader of the Muses because of his association with music, poetry, and the arts. (Morford, Lenardon 131). The Muses also make a profound impact in Homer’s The Iliad. The Goddesses are constantly asked by the poet Homer to tell of tales, to bestow their gifts of song, and to be inspirations for those who have lost their memory (Homer book 2 line 484, 761.)
Bibliography
Hesiod. "Theogony." Works and Days ; and Theogony. Trans. Stanley Lombardo. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub., 1993. 62.
Homer. The Iliad. Trans. Richmond Alexander Lattimore. [Chicago]: University of Chicago, 1962.
Kerényi, Karl. "Zeus, Mnemosyne, and the Muses." The Gods of the Greeks. London: Thames, and Hudson, 1951. 103-05.
Mikalson, Jon D. "Greek Gods, Heroes, and Polytheism." Ancient Greek Religion. Malden, MA [u.a.: Blackwell, 2006. 48-49.
Morford, Mark Percy Owen., and Robert J. Lenardon. Classical Mythology. New York: Oxford UP, 2007. 55-56, 130-131, 136.
Price, Simon, and Emily Kearns. The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2003. 359-60.
Rose, H. J. "Lesser and Foreign Deities." A Handbook of Greek Mythology: including Its Extension to Rome. New York: Dutton, 1959. 73-75.
Salisbury, Joyce E. "Muses." Encyclopedia of Women in the Ancient World. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2001. 238-39.
The Muses
The Muses in Greek mythology are ancient goddesses of inspiration. They are the women whom poets, artists, philosophers, and intellectuals depend on in order to generate their works (Price, Kearns 359). The Muses are the daughters of the great God Zeus and “Memory” (Mnemosyne), the Titaness (Hesiod 62).The Muses sat near the throne of Zeus, king of the gods, and sang of his greatness and of the origin of the world and its inhabitants and the glorious deeds of the great heroes. From their name words such as music, museum, mosaic are derived (Price, Kearns 360.)
Origin
Table of Contents
Traditional Muses
The number of Muses is not consistent, but later authors (originating from the great poet Hesiod) identify nine of them. The late eighth century Greek poet Hesiod claimed that the Muses gave him the gift of storytelling one day when he was tending to his sheep. That is why at the beginning of his Theogonyhe calls upon the divine Muses to inspire him. Most ancients have accepted Hesiod’s claim that the nine Muses have existed, as well as the names he assigned them (Kerenyi 104.) The Greek historian Diodorus Sirculus had this to say about the matter:"Writers disagree concerning the number of the Muses; for some say that they are three, and others that they are nine, but the number nine has prevailed since it rests upon the authority of the most distinguished men, such as Homer and Hesiod and others like them."
However, the original story of the goddesses tells only of three. The names given to these three Muses do not come from mythology, but rather from a poet’s practice. The names of the Muses are: Melete, “practicing”; Mneme, “remembering”; and Aoide, “singing” (Kerenyi 104).
The Nine Muses
According to later authors, the nine muses are assigned a specialty in the arts. Calliope is the Muse of epic poetry, Clio of history, Euterpe of music and Elegiac poetry, Melpomene of tragedy, Terpsichore of dance, Erato of hymns to the Gods, Polyhymnia of religious poetry, Urania of astronomy, and Thalia of comedy (Rose 174). The nine Muses can be distinguished within Renaissance and Neoclassical art by the specific emblams they carry in their sculputures and paintings. For example, Calliope can be seen carrying a writing tablet, Clio carries a scroll and books, Terpsichore is often seen dancing and carrying a lyre, and Urania carries a pair of compasses and the celestial globe (Rose 175).Muses in Myth
The Muses are proud goddesses who find it essential to protect their honor. There exists two tales where the Muses encounter challenges by mortals. A man named Thamyris (from Homer’s Iliad), who believed he could out-sing the goddesses, brought about the first challenge. During his performance, unimpressed by his attributes, the Muses put an end to Thamyris’ “minstrelsy” by binding the pompous man and thus taking away his memory. The second incident included the nine daughters of Pieros of Pella in Macedonia. The nine daughters (called Pierides, like the Muses) challenged the Muses to a contest of song. In the end, the vote was unanimous- the Muses had outdone the daughters. As a punishment for their disrespect during the contest, the daughters were turned into birds (Rose 174.)Muses in Greek Culture
In Macedonia, there were dedicated cult centers for the Muses during the archaic and classcial periods. The cult centers were located at Pieria and on Mount Olympus, and on Mount Helicon between Delphi and Thebes. The Muses at Helicon a had full-scale sanctuary with an altar, theater, status of goddesses and poets, and a quadrennial festival with contests in tradegy and comedy and later, music. The Muses were given a new type of cultic life during the fourth century when Plato's academy and other philosophical schools adopted the Muses as their patrons. Local circumstances determined what type of deities they were and whather or not they would receive worship, and the poetic tradition, strongly influenced by Hesiod. Eventually, the Muses were developed into fairly uniform literary and artistic characters for all Greeks (Mikalson 48.)Muses in Literature
The Muses are mentioned countless times Greek literature. In Hesiod’s Theogony, the poet devotes several lines to the beauty and supremacy of the goddesses, mentioning them merely as a prophetic strategy. In the Homeric Hymn to the Muses and Apollo, it is said that Apollo is the leader of the Muses because of his association with music, poetry, and the arts. (Morford, Lenardon 131). The Muses also make a profound impact in Homer’s The Iliad. The Goddesses are constantly asked by the poet Homer to tell of tales, to bestow their gifts of song, and to be inspirations for those who have lost their memory (Homer book 2 line 484, 761.)Bibliography
Hesiod. "Theogony." Works and Days ; and Theogony. Trans. Stanley Lombardo. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub., 1993. 62.
Homer. The Iliad. Trans. Richmond Alexander Lattimore. [Chicago]: University of Chicago, 1962.
Kerényi, Karl. "Zeus, Mnemosyne, and the Muses." The Gods of the Greeks. London: Thames, and Hudson, 1951. 103-05.
Mikalson, Jon D. "Greek Gods, Heroes, and Polytheism." Ancient Greek Religion. Malden, MA [u.a.: Blackwell, 2006. 48-49.
Morford, Mark Percy Owen., and Robert J. Lenardon. Classical Mythology. New York: Oxford UP, 2007. 55-56, 130-131, 136.
Price, Simon, and Emily Kearns. The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2003. 359-60.
Rose, H. J. "Lesser and Foreign Deities." A Handbook of Greek Mythology: including Its Extension to Rome. New York: Dutton, 1959. 73-75.
Salisbury, Joyce E. "Muses." Encyclopedia of Women in the Ancient World. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2001. 238-39.